Collection Overview

Biography / History

Tobias Gibson was a wealthy landowner with large holdings in Kentucky and Louisiana. His family lived in the south during the winters and returned to Woodford County, Ky. for the summers. Gibson was married to Louisiana Breckinridge Hart and they had nine children. Their six sons attended Harvard or Yale, and all traveled and studied in Europe. All served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Randall Lee attaining the rank of General and Hart, that of Colonel. Randall later became a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, and Hart represented Woodford County in the Kentucky General Assembly and served as a trustee for the State University (now the University of Kentucky). The oldest of the Gibson daughters, Sarah, married Joseph A. Humphreys of Woodford County. She became an author and was active in public affairs, both as a member of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association and as an advocate of the free kindergarten movement.

Scope and Content

This is a collection of primarily nineteenth century papers from a prominent Woodford County, Ky. family. Most of the collection consists of family correspondence, including many letters to Sarah and Joseph Humphreys from the Gibsons. Also included are several letters to Joseph from his sister, Mary. These letters describe life in the deep South and in Kentucky, and reflect the impact of the war on living conditions. Plantations mentioned in the letters are Greenwood, Forest Oak, Live Oak and Magnolia. Woodford County homes figuring in the correspondence are Sumner's Forest, Waverly, Hartland, Spring Hill and Sherwood. There are 30 land office certificates of Mississippi and Louisiana, dating from 1840-1851, some of them issued to Tobias Gibson. One of them is signed by President John Tyler. The papers also reflect Sarah Humphreys' interests in equal rights for women and other social reform activities.

Restrictions on Access and Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Researchers are required to have an SCRC Researcher Account in order to request or order digital copies of materials. Research Account set-up and use instructions can be found at: http://libguides.uky.edu/SCRCaccount

If you are visiting the Breckinridge Research Room, please request materials at least 48 business hours in advance of your arrival.

Table of Contents

Researchers are required to have an SCRC Researcher Account in order to request or order digital copies of materials. Research Account set-up and use instructions can be found at: http://libguides.uky.edu/SCRCaccount

If you are visiting the Breckinridge Research Room, please request materials at least 48 business hours in advance of your arrival.